AES E-Library

AES E-Library

Manufacturing Recordings from 100 Year Old Masters

Most work on the 78rpm analogue recording format concentrates on pressings made near to the time of the recording and the best ways to retrieve the information from these for future storage and reproduction.
However, a considerable number of metal master plates have been preserved from the earliest days to the end of the format’s active period.
This paper describes a project to manufacture new pressings from the original plates, the reasons for so doing and the technical challenges involved.